Saturday, March 29, 2008

with the beads I finished last week... It is a large necklace, about 30 inches long, but very cool looking, I think.

The clay beads are a olive brown with swirls of black and gold with some silver leaf embedded as well. A very unique look and definitely one of a kind. I don't think I could ever make them again! It was a difficult color to make and I wouldn't be able to match them exactly. So, a one of a kind!

Friday, March 28, 2008

Here is the second of the two new things I've been working on--malachite beads. These are a bit different with many different shades of green to work with! Interesting to get the right texture with these, but I think I did pretty well and I like how they turned out. I'm hoping to add more semi-precious gemstone looks to my beading repertoire.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

I've been trying to make my beads match the colors and styles of some semi-precious stones lately. This is some lapis lazuli on the left and my beads on the right (obviously:) Anyway, I think I got the color pretty well, but lapis has so many different variations of inclusions in black and gold that it is difficult to match. So, I did my best with the color and I'll add things from there!!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I'm working hard on some new things, but they're still in the planning and development stages. I hope to have some things ready for pictures within the next few days. Meanwhile, I hope you can check out my Etsy site where all of my jewelry and beads are for sale.

www.struckmyfancy.etsy.com

I've been working on the site quite a bit lately and it is doing well! Thanks for checking things out!!

Friday, March 21, 2008

Just finished them today! I'll be incorporating them into a necklace or something later. But for now it is a new technique that is interesting. It's got silver leaf, gold clay, a specially mixed green/brown clay, as well as black and copper. Very unique.

How many pieces do you wish? As a child, I loved to jump rope and sing this little song and see how many times I could jump in a row. This bracelet reminds me of all the bright pink gum I used to chew way back when! So bright and pink!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

I made this necklace tonight. I was planning to use these beads in a bracelet and maybe some earrings, but they were too chunky for the wrist. Sooo, I ended up making this instead! I really like how it turned out. The beads are about an inch square and the round black beads are wood. They are spaced with silver stardust beads that are really sparkly.

Here is part of the new bead design I've been working on. This is the large version, I made smaller ones too. I'm thinking of making earrings and a pendant with these. They are so fun and such great colors of greens!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I'm really excited about what I'm doing now. New ideas and colors are interesting and although the ideas don't always come out like I plan, or haven't made it to the top of the "list of things to do and try" yet, it is still fun and I still enjoy it. I think I'm doing the best work I've done and I'm constantly trying to learn new techniques and concepts in art. Stretching the limits of what I've done before and trying to surpass them. It still seems a little funny that people I know call me an artist----me! But I'm trying to learn and grow and do more each day and do better than I did yesterday, and not just in beading and jewelry-in life as well.

Here are some of the new beads I've been making the past week. It has been lots of fun and they are bright and yummy! I've now got blue, green, violet, pink, and yellow finished. I'm still working on a brown set and possibly red as well. In addition, I've been working on some new black and white designs!

A bracelet made with bone and wood beads accenting my own beads. The colors are really pretty in this one.

I've been working on some new things, hopefully I'll have them shaped and fired soon! They are really cool! I used the blue clay shown below and made beads and a pendant. Then I made some in green, violet, and yellow! (I still have plans for other colors as well, just need time to do it!!)

Monday, March 10, 2008

but I did start on something new. I think it totally rocks! I really like how it turned out and I'll have to see how the beads, the bracelet, and the pendant I made with this actually turned out. Hopefully good. Let me know what you think!!

Monday, March 3, 2008

Here's a new necklace design I started working on last fall. It is a 4 strand necklace of pearl and silver with lots of crystal and glass beads with it. Lots of shimmer and shine. Understated and elegant, I think. I really like this one! You'll have to let me know what you think! :)

Sunday, March 2, 2008

I made these 3 colors of beads to match the colors in the stones that I bought. The malachite green, lapis blue, and turquoise colors all match the colors in the stones. The colors made me think of an underwater lagoon that is clear and beautiful.